What Lionel Messi Must Do to Win the Golden Boot

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19 July 2026

Saturday’s Bronze medal match in Miami delivered one of the most memorable ties in

World Cup

history; not just because the game was pure crackerjack entertainment.

Before the game,

Lionel Messi

Argentina

held the Golden Boot (an award for most goals scored). But by the end, he did not.

The third place match is the one game neither team wants to be playing. But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to play for. Outside of pride (the usual motivator), this match would help decide the Golden Boot race.

Before the opening whistle, France’s

Kylian Mbappé

was tied with

on goals scored (8), and trailed him by one in assists (3 to 4). This meant Messi sat in pole position, firmly holding the shoe. Mbappé would need a good performance to overtake him.

Entering the locker room halftime, it looked bleak for

Les Bleus

. England quite simply dominated

France

in every conceivable way for the first 45 minutes. Declan Rice opened England’s account in the 3rd minute, then the Three Lions added three more: one from Ezra Konsa and a brace from Bukayo Saka.

manager Didier Deschamps was despondent on the touchline. Kylian Mbappé’s head shook from side to side with every goal England scored.

looked lost, bewildered and totally fucked.

This certainly didn’t look (or feel) that this fixture would cement itself into

lore, or provide Mbappé with a shred of hope to topple Messi.

Within the 3rd minute of the second half, a defensive error allowed Michael Olise to feed Mbappé, who drilled the ball into the right corner.

would put another two more goals in the net by the 66th minute, completely flipping the game on its arse. Bradley Barcola, one of four subs Deschamps put on the pitch at halftime, scored one; Mbappé the second.

In the span of 21 minutes, Mbappé went from also-ran to Messi to record setter. Not only did his two goals give him a total of ten (the same number of Gerd Müller back in 1972), he recorded the assist on Barcola’s goal, bringing his total to four, equal with Messi.

For the purposes of this article, the remaining 30 minutes are extraneous to the plot around the Golden Boot (spoiler alert: England won 6-4). But it now presents a fantastically complex subplot to the

final.

will be playing to win the trophy, and for Messi lifting that is more important than any other individual accolade. b

But exactly what needs to happen to get

the Golden Boot? The scenarios are actually quite simple:

The Golden Boot award has three criteria, which are:1. Total number of goals scored.2. Total number of assists.3. If the above are tied, the player with the fewest number of minutes played wins.

As of publication,

has played 698 minutes over eight games.

has logged 620 minutes in the same number. Messi has played every minute of every knockout fixture so far. And it’s highly unlikely that, barring injury, he will be subbed out of the penultimate match. Which means that even if Messi scores a brace, Mbappé would lift the Boot.

Crazy, right? But no less crazy than the game played today.

The real winners here are everyone around the globe who got to watch this spectacular match today, which rewrote the narrative in remarkable fashion. And for everyone watching tomorrow, to see if can be rewritten again,.

🗣️ Best World Cup goalscorer ever, Mbappé on his duel with Messi

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